Gin Tasting: Stop by Jaleo DC for complimentary sips of Hendrick’s gin and free bites on Monday from 4 to 6 pm. The sampling is a part of Jaleo’s two-week-long Gin and Tonic Festival, which includes another gin tasting on Wednesday, and live music and g&t specials at Jaleo’s Bethesda location on Thursday at 6:30 pm.
CYOB Dinner: Foodies can enjoy a truffle-filled wine dinner at Via Umbria on Friday. The CYOB (“choose your own bottle”) event lets diners pick a bottle of their choosing from Georgetown market, and sip it over a four-course meal in their private dining room. The dinner is $75, and features dishes like seared trout topped with truffle sauce, and chocolate truffle desserts. Dinner is from 7:30 to 9:30 pm and reservations are required.
Pumpkin Carving Classes: The Ritz-Carlton at Tysons Corner is offering two pumpkin carving classes on Saturday at 10 am and 1 pm, with Halloween-themed treats for the entire family to enjoy. The classes are $52 per person, and include the pumpkin and materials for carving. Children age six and older are welcome.
Shucktoberfest: The first-ever Shucktoberfest seafood festival goes down on Sunday from noon to 4 pm at Union Market, featuring bottomless Blue Point Brewing Company beer, cocktails, and Rappahannock Oyster Co. shellfish. For $75, attendees get free-flowing drinks, bottomless bivalves and snacks, and can dance to live bluegrass music and play games like corn hole, giant Jenga, and bocce ball. Tickets can be purchased online.
District Pie Fest: Bourbon in Adams Morgan hosts an all-you-can-eat pie festival to support the Jayna Troxel Murray Foundation. Guests can enter homemade pies into the contest to compete for prizes, or come to enjoy an array of pies and drinks at the cash bar. The pie tasting will last from 1 to 4 pm on Sunday, and tickets start at $15.
Briana A. Thomas is a local journalist, historian, and tour guide who specializes in the research of D.C. history and culture. She is the author of the Black history book, Black Broadway in Washington, D.C., a story that was first published in Washingtonian in 2016.
